Using a Website Builder Vs Launching a Website with a Hosting Provider – Which Option is Right for you?

While web technologies evolve, choosing a proper website building platform may appear to be a daunting process. A user must consider various factors before choosing a tool to create a site. From goals and website structure to target audience – knowing these factors will let you choose the best-matching website building kit.

When it comes to comparing the available software and platforms, users find it hard to identify, which is a better option: online website builders or hosting providers. We already know much about all features and capabilities delivered by online software.

On the other hand, hosting providers usually come with inbuilt website building instruments though rarely of high quality. Some companies operate on the white label basis and sometimes fail to deliver enough benefits to potential users. For this reason, we will consider using WordPress in this particular article comparing its core benefits with IM Creator.

How Do Hosting Providers Differ from Website Builders?

The core difference between hosting providers and website builders refers to technical issues. On the one hand, both operate in the same way when it comes to delivering website servicing and hosting facilities through the web server. On the other hand, the service delivery, in particular, is fairly different.

Online website builders come with a simpler interface and options that make the building process easier for newbies. In-built hosting provider’s instruments or WordPress might look easy at first sight. However, as far you go deeper in the building process, you understand that using WordPress is far more complicated. It requires some technical skills and knowledge. IM Creator looks like a simpler solution with some other features we are going to review.

Ease of Use & Technical Aspects

Website Builders:

Website Builders were initially designed to put an ease on the building process. They do not require any technical skills and let users create decent sites of any type within a couple of hours. For example, IM Creator offers various building opportunities from creating a catchy landing page to a digital store. The main benefits include:

Intuitive Interface – most website builders come with intuitive guides that will help on every stage of the building process. It will take you 30-40 minutes to understand how IM Creator works;

Fast Building Process – it usually takes an average user not more than 2-3 hours to follow the entire path from logging in to publishing your website;

Technical Support – website builders usually provide a knowledge base in addition to blogs and customer support for premium plans to resolve any issue;

Hosting and Domain – each plan includes free hosting and domain name connecting.

Self-Hosted:

Opting for hosting providers may come with more actions to ensure a smooth website operation. A user should be 100% sure all technologies and platforms are compatible with the hosting provider. It requires deep technical knowledge and understating how the system works. Otherwise, it may lead to operating and performance errors. On the other hand, users may benefit from wider customization opportunities in case they are experts at HTML or CSS editing.

Winner: website builders are obvious winners when it comes to the ease of use. They do not require any special knowledge. A user only needs to sign in, choose a free template and start editing it at once.

How Quickly Can You Launch?

Website Builders:

The time between you singing in and publish a ready-to-use website will hardly exceed 2-3 hours when opting for a website builder. A user will have to complete several simple steps before pressing the “publish” button:

Log in.

Choose a free template from the categories available;

Edit the platform and customize each page.

Add content using WYSIWYG editor.

Publish the website.

That’s it! All technical issues like hosting are handled on the background by the platform you choose.

Self-Hosted:

When it comes to self-hosted platforms, the process duration depends on user’s technical involvement and knowledge. If you are an experienced web developer, you will hardly find it difficult to handle programming, testing, coding, designing, etc. If you are a newbie, you are very unlikely to reach the stage of publishing your website.

As a result, you will have to hire someone familiar with the platforms like WordPress. It means extra costs and more time, as it may take custom developers weeks or even month to complete the work.

Winner: once again, website builders take the lead in offering a faster and simpler way to create a website from scratch and publish it within several hours. On the other hand, experienced web designers will appreciate customization opportunities delivered by self-hosted options.

Customization & Features

Website Builders:

IM Creator delivers some baseline customization features. Yes, they will hardly let a user implement a total redesign implementing features and functions you want to see on your website. The idea of creating a platform where users do not need to worry about technical aspects resulted in limited customization options delivered by the platforms’ editor. On the other hand, IM Creator has PRO settings where you can change different parameters and add some uniqueness to your template. A good news is that website builders come with inbuilt or at least available set if features deepening on the plan. They may include:

SEO Settings to ensure a better search engines rank;

eCommerce settings for digital stores where control and product management are needed;

Mobile Optimized Templates to reach the mobile target audience.

Those are only basic features. IM Creator delivers a wider list of flexible options out of the box.

Self-Hosted:

WordPress comes with endless customization opportunities. You can actually change your website whatever you want. All you need is a good level of web designing skills in addition to the understanding of HTML and CSS. A user is free to add any feature he or she wants without resource limitation.

Winner: Self-hosted platforms make an essential comeback in this particular section offering wider customization options. Though they do not have in-built features, users can implement any of them opting for a wide selection of plugins for SEO, eCommerce, leads, users’ acquisition and more.

The Cost

Website Builders:

Website builders bring the all-in-one product including hosting and domain name. It means that a user pays for the plan on a monthly or annual basis and never deals with any technical issues. Moreover, IM Creator offers a free trial to check how it works, while non-profitable organizations and students can use it for free. Premium plans start from $7.95/month in case you pay for a year in advance.

Self-hosted:

Hosting providers may charge pretty much the same price for their services. However, hiring a professional programmer or web developer may result in extra costs in case you cannot handle the building process on your own.

Winner: it seems like we have a draw here. Website builders look more worthy, as they bring all services in the pack. At least, you know what you pay for.

Security

Website Builders:

A technical team is a huge plus in favor of website builders and IM Creator in particular. A pool of experts regularly monitors all your web resources in real time. It lets them detect and prevent the slightest effort of placing malicious scripts of harmful links by third-party users. On the other hand, there still exists the risk of damaging the website and its resources. For this reason, IM Creator constantly updates its prevention means to ensure 100% digital security.

Self-hosted:

The freedom of website customization leads to real digital threats when it comes to self-hosted packages. While a user can implement any code, third parties can do the same although companies do their best to prevent from any of the above-mentioned. Another problem is that no one will ever inform you about a virus or malicious scripts. As a rule, virus-monitoring support is available in premium plans.

Winner: Website builders look more reliable from security perspectives reserving less space for hackers to damage the website and its resources.

The Overall Winner

Although self-hosted packages deliver more customization freedom, website builders still look like a better alternative. They are easier to use, faster to publish a site, and safer when it comes to digital threats. They are a better option for beginners and newbies without the slightest technical knowledge. On the other hand, professional developers and web designers are more likely to opt for self-hosted platforms.

Ready to launch a stunning website and looking for a user-friendly and powerful website builder? Try IM Creator for free.

I'm a webmaster and a blogger with over 15 years of website building experience. I'm also the owner and the editor-in-chief of SuperbWebsiteBuilders.com. Feel free to ask any questions about DIY website creation.